British and Dutch wholesale gas prices were mixed on Tuesday morning as strong supply and high stock levels competed with expectations for a dip in temperatures and longer term concerns over France’s nuclear plants.

The British within-day price fell by 1.00 pence to 100 pence per therm by 0830 GMT, Refinitiv Eikon data showed.

The front-month contract at the Dutch TTF hub edged up by 0.25 euros to 43.50 euros per megawatt hour (MWh), the data showed.

“The market is torn between the bearish spot fundamentals and the concerns on the French nuclear situation,” analysts at Engie EnergyScan said.

Maintenance on France’s nuclear fleet has been delayed over the past few weeks as industrial action against pension system changes has led to widespread strikes affecting the energy sector.

Europe’s gas storage sites were 55.6% full, the latest data from Gas Infrastructure Europe showed.

The British day-ahead contract TRGBNBPD1 edged up 2.00 pence to 102p a therm, due to an expected increase in local distribution zone demand (LDZ) which is primarily used for heating as temperatures are expected to dip this week.

British LDZ gas demand was expected at 158 mcm on Wednesday, up 35 mcm on the previous forecast.

“The latest long-term temperature forecasts show a seasonal normal May, but not before we have a few cold days this week and then a warm week the next,” analysts at Auxilione said in a daily market report.

In the European carbon market, the benchmark contract CFI2Zc1 rose by 1.47 euro to 98.13 euros a tonne.
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Susanna Twidale; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)